Novak Djokovic held on to beat defending champion Rafael Nadal 6-2, 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-1 Monday night in a final filled with lengthy, mesmerizing points to win his first U.S. Open championship and third Grand Slam trophy of the year.

And he’s perfect against Nadal in 2011—6-0, all in finals, including at Wimbledon in July. Djokovic also won the Australian Open in January, and is the sixth man in the Open era to collect three major titles in one year.

In the third set, Djokovic served for the match at 6-5 before Nadal broke, and after the tiebreaker, Djokovic was treated for an aching back. But Djokovic ruled the fourth set.